Any truly happy DICE owners out there?

[optikal]

I've had mine for about 3 months or so.. and it seriously has been one of those things that makes you question how a company can stay in business releasing trash like this.

Installation was easy enough. I installed the DICE in the trunk and just have the ipod sitting where the changer would be.

It didn't take long for the DICE's several problems to start showing up. If you leave the car alone for a weekend, the next time you turn it on, the DICE loses its mind and just sits there 'INIT'ing. Turns out that it isn't patient enough with the ipod to wait for it to come out of hibernation, so it just gives up and dies. Sometimes it sits there INITing while music is playing, but you have no control over it. Then, there's the constant 'tick tick tick tick tick' sound, which thankfully is usually lost in the background. I was willing to ignore that. However, now there's a loud, annoying whine and hissing noise at idle. Definitely a power source noise problem, but you'd think that they'd have put a filter on it. Great. Lastly, there's DICE's support. Epic fail.

I've put in a ticket and email to DICE's support at the end of September. No reply. I've sent a follow-up at the beginning of this month. Still no word.

Thankfully the Intravee is out now, but I would feel so bad pawning this piece of junk off on someone else and I don't just want to be out the money.

[JTBurn]

I've had mine for about 3 months or so.. and it seriously has been one of those things that makes you question how a company can stay in business releasing trash like this.

Installation was easy enough. I installed the DICE in the trunk and just have the ipod sitting where the changer would be.

It didn't take long for the DICE's several problems to start showing up. If you leave the car alone for a weekend, the next time you turn it on, the DICE loses its mind and just sits there 'INIT'ing. Turns out that it isn't patient enough with the ipod to wait for it to come out of hibernation, so it just gives up and dies. Sometimes it sits there INITing while music is playing, but you have no control over it. Then, there's the constant 'tick tick tick tick tick' sound, which thankfully is usually lost in the background. I was willing to ignore that. However, now there's a loud, annoying whine and hissing noise at idle. Definitely a power source noise problem, but you'd think that they'd have put a filter on it. Great. Lastly, there's DICE's support. Epic fail.

I've put in a ticket and email to DICE's support at the end of September. No reply. I've sent a follow-up at the beginning of this month. Still no word.

Thankfully the Intravee is out now, but I would feel so bad pawning this piece of junk off on someone else and I don't just want to be out the money.


Sounds like a real bad experience. I can understand a bad product, maybe its even an isolated case, but there is no excuse for piss poor customer support.

[Chris90]

Any more input on this? I'm thinking of getting one, the glovebox version.

[jimthack]

I concur... These things are severe POS. 1) They did respond to me and I was told that it must be the iPod. 2) Every time I start the car with the iPod plugged up to this thing it locks up the iPod and the only way to fix it is to connect it to the home PC and reprogram... then the iPod magically works again... I agree with DICE, it must be a bad iPod... NOT. 3) When I received it, the DICE sticker was put on upside down. real good QC goes on at the DICE factory... probably some third rate chop shop in a garage, but needless to say, I was also suckered into their misleading advertising

DO NOT SPEND YOUR MONEY ON DICE IPOD INTEGRATION KITS...

[ecalcagnino]

I had the same issues mentioned and sent mine back within the 30 return window I was offered. I would look into the Intravee as an option. There are still a few bugs but it's nice and quickly upgradable firmware won me over. The IV forum is quick to respond as well. Good luck.

Eric

[Blak Blur]

I've had a rough experience as well. Wouldn't recommend the device.

[sunilsf]

I've thought about getting the DICE product, but the number of pages of people having problems with these units is astounding (on the flip side, Tom seems to be doing the best he can to work with customers to make things right).

That being said, I've just opted not to have the headache.

[Chris90]

Damn, that's like 6 major thumbs down in one thread, I guess I'll pass. Thanks guys!

Now I have to figure out what to do about my car stereo though.

[AMP]

I wish that this thread had started up about 3 days earlier.

I just installed my Dice unit and am very disappointed with the performance. The only real benefit seems to be... well, nothing at all.... It's only slightly more reliable than the AUX interface on the radio.

I wish that I had searched a little more and found the intravee II. Unfortunately, it's over 2X the cost of the Dice. I'm just not sure if I want to spend that much.

I guess I'll be trying out the return policy at EAS. Bummer that they ding you with a 15% restocking fee.

[ecalcagnino]

...I guess I'll be trying out the return policy at EAS. Bummer that they ding you with a 15% restocking fee.

They shouldn't if it's not working the way it was advertised, which they don't.

Also, the Intravee is worth the extra dough IMHO. My ONLY beef with it is that it's a little slow with a ton of Artists (500+). They are also addressing this from what I know.

My $0.02... pick up the Alpine from Crutchfield for $80-100 and get the IVII from Bimmernav. Both places have a great return policy so if you're not happy you should be set.

Good luck!

Eric

[AMP]

They shouldn't if it's not working the way it was advertised, which they don't.

My $0.02... pick up the Alpine from Crutchfield for $80-100 and get the IVII from Bimmernav. Both places have a great return policy so if you're not happy you should be set.


I ordered the IV II from bimmernav last night. Picking up the Alpine unit from a local dealer today.

[Halston@BSW]

There is one thing to consider. We sell hundreds of these kits a month. Many to people that are not on bimmerfest and never plan to be. When someone buys something and has a problem, they post about it. Rarely does someone post a good thread about a product they bought, it happens but nearly as much.

We have 2 vehicles in house and both have had the DICE for a long time, original modules and original install. They work great.

There is a "proper" install to the DICE in terms of the connections, if you just plug plug plug and go you very well may have a problem. We have had maybe 5 out of hundreds of DICE customers that we did the install come back. We include a very explicit guide in our install guides and videos on the proper cable connections and have a very low failure rate. If any of you would like that guide please jump on our site and view the videos or download the PDF's or simply PM or email me and I will send you links and files!

It also is not a Ferrari. It is not an exotic super car. It is much slower than that. If someone used the vehicle or used the kit and just went wild pushing buttons and trying to navigate it very well could have "freaked out". Try resetting the DICE to fix this problem. This happened to my cousin's X3. She is an impatient teenage so I had to go show her how to use it again! Now it is working perfectly for a couple of months now.

Lastly, it is a small piece of electronics. Sometimes it is going to have problems. I know of 10 people that have had their iPods fail(hard drive, batteries, etc) and that is hardly a bad product. My motherboard just went on my gaming PC but I don't condemn it :) Give it a chance. We offer a VERY generous 30 day satisfaction guarantee. Nothing to lose and no restocking fees(disclaimer - if you hit it with a hammer and crush the module we can't refund that hehe)

To those that had a problem contacting DICE. Please PM/Email me your contact and I will have our contact at DICE personally contact you directly.

If you guys have ANY other questions/concerns let me know!

[Cliff]

My $0.02... pick up the Alpine from Crutchfield for $80-100 and get the IVII from Bimmernav. Both places have a great return policy so if you're not happy you should be set.

I bought a bluetooth retrofit kit from Bimmernav. I had to buy a replacement for a defective part (the pairing button) from the local dealer to the tune of $50 or thereabouts. Prior to my ordering the part, the proprietor of Bimmernav was not able to provide a definitive answer to the question of what to do about the defective part. Something along the lines of 'send it back to me and I'll get you a new one' or 'send me the receipt for the replacement' would have solved the problem. Instead, he decided to be coy about it.

Be careful buying from Bimmernav.

(edit: I have a DICE unit in my Z4MC. It works as designed. Unfortunately, the design kind of blows.)

[tom @ eas]

I've had mine for about 3 months or so.. and it seriously has been one of those things that makes you question how a company can stay in business releasing trash like this.

Installation was easy enough. I installed the DICE in the trunk and just have the ipod sitting where the changer would be.

It didn't take long for the DICE's several problems to start showing up. If you leave the car alone for a weekend, the next time you turn it on, the DICE loses its mind and just sits there 'INIT'ing. Turns out that it isn't patient enough with the ipod to wait for it to come out of hibernation, so it just gives up and dies. Sometimes it sits there INITing while music is playing, but you have no control over it. Then, there's the constant 'tick tick tick tick tick' sound, which thankfully is usually lost in the background. I was willing to ignore that. However, now there's a loud, annoying whine and hissing noise at idle. Definitely a power source noise problem, but you'd think that they'd have put a filter on it. Great. Lastly, there's DICE's support. Epic fail.

I've put in a ticket and email to DICE's support at the end of September. No reply. I've sent a follow-up at the beginning of this month. Still no word.

Thankfully the Intravee is out now, but I would feel so bad pawning this piece of junk off on someone else and I don't just want to be out the money.

I'm sorry to hear of your experience, but we will be more than happy to diagnose the issue you (since you're in SoCal) even if you did not purchase from us. We've equipped most people on the forums with their DICE kits and there are lots of happy users out there - you should not be the exception.

Contact me directly and I'll make sure you kit is in 100% working order when completed.

[tom @ eas]

I wish that this thread had started up about 3 days earlier.

I just installed my Dice unit and am very disappointed with the performance. The only real benefit seems to be... well, nothing at all.... It's only slightly more reliable than the AUX interface on the radio.

I wish that I had searched a little more and found the intravee II. Unfortunately, it's over 2X the cost of the Dice. I'm just not sure if I want to spend that much.

I guess I'll be trying out the return policy at EAS. Bummer that they ding you with a 15% restocking fee.

When was your kit purchased? If you are not happy, we will not apply any restocking fees as long as everything is returned within 30 days of invoice. As stated earlier - there are lots of happy DICE users out there and we'll support the devices 100%, even if not purchased directly from us.

[DaleWA]

OK, I have to speak up for the truly happy owners. I've had the DICE in my '99 3-series with Business CD headunit for a quite a while now and it has worked pretty much flawlessly. Last week, it did get stuck displaying INIT on the screen or displaying the wrong album title (weird). I reset the iPod and all was working perfectly again. No sound problems of any kind.

I did install the Intravee/Alpine in the Z4 with Navigation - that is a pretty darn cool setup, but not sure if it would be worth it if you did not have Nav.

[IFLYTBM]

I've had the Dice unit in the wife's Range Rover for a year now, I set the dip switches and the unit to not display the song info, etc, on the instrument cluster- since this interferes with the Valentine 1/stealthOne display. I purposefully did this b/c as previously stated in this thread, it would just sit there for days displaying....INT...very annoying.

Both the wife and I like to have unlocked control of the ipod and we change things a lot, so much so that cruising through using the NAV buttons or steering wheel buttons is impractical. Let me pick it up and use it!

Aside from this one issue, which isnt really an issue for us- I love the stupid thing and more importantly she loves it and can work it...and yes the steering wheel buttons all work correctly too.

I am planning on moving into an e39 from my e63 as soon as I find the right car- I'll be buying a HD/DICE piece for that car. As far as the Intravee goes, it looks great, I wish all of you the best- but come on people- is pushing that many darn buttons really practical. Theres a button press or two to select input sources then another to go through artists/playlists/etc..button press.etc..knob twist...etc...and all this to have the Alpine unit (which I have in my boat and dislike b/c it locks the ipod - :mad:) do the same most basic funtion as an AUX input does, sans the charge....I'll be nice and say its just not for me.

[Halston@BSW]

I knew there were at least a couple ;)

[tom @ eas]

OK, I have to speak up for the truly happy owners. I've had the DICE in my '99 3-series with Business CD headunit for a quite a while now and it has worked pretty much flawlessly. Last week, it did get stuck displaying INIT on the screen or displaying the wrong album title (weird). I reset the iPod and all was working perfectly again. No sound problems of any kind.

I did install the Intravee/Alpine in the Z4 with Navigation - that is a pretty darn cool setup, but not sure if it would be worth it if you did not have Nav.

Glad you were able to get back up and running, we're here if you should have any questions. :thumbup:

[IFLYTBM]

I bought a bluetooth retrofit kit from Bimmernav. I had to buy a replacement for a defective part (the pairing button) from the local dealer to the tune of $50 or thereabouts. Prior to my ordering the part, the proprietor of Bimmernav was not able to provide a definitive answer to the question of what to do about the defective part. Something along the lines of 'send it back to me and I'll get you a new one' or 'send me the receipt for the replacement' would have solved the problem. Instead, he decided to be coy about it.

Be careful buying from Bimmernav.

(edit: I have a DICE unit in my Z4MC. It works as designed. Unfortunately, the design kind of blows.)


I have to respond to this: I've been a customer of Martin's (aka the Bimmernav guy) for over a year and a half. I've bought a few thousand bucks worth of add-ons from him. Most recently, Nov 16 2007, I purchased a set of Vizualogic headrest monitors for the wifes Rover.
Well, Vizualogic screwed up the order and get this...they used a different shade of the 'sand' interior color matched from a different oem manufacturer. So I probably got the sand color that Kia uses or something.
SO- I called up bimmernav and explained the issue, Tara and Martin both helped out and got vizualogic to fix the issue (although they-vizualogic- originally claimed that it was my fault somehow, or that my leather had been faded form the UV which is a lame lame excuse since her Rover lives in the garage) If I would have tried to call them directly I bet they would have told me to climb a tree.

So, theres my counterpoint. I've never known anyone at Bimmernav to be 'coy' sorry you had a bad experience, but those guys are A-OK in my book. Did you try directly asking bimmernav to replace the switch?
And I should also mention that Tom and the guys at EAS are straight shooters too, its great to be a part of a community like this, I've learned so much. Cheers everyone!

[Cliff]

Did you try directly asking bimmernav to replace the switch?

I asked once, yes. I don't ask obvious questions twice. My experience may be out of the norm for bimmernav, but it was enough to color my opinion of them and to give me great pause in doing business with them again.

On the other hand, from a customer service persepctive, Tom and EAS rock. I had a problem with the firmware in my DICE unit not being compatible with the then new Z4MC, and the exchange of that for the correct device was handled perfectly. Tom also went beyond the call of duty in the installation support he rendered me via email.

Two vendors, two different experiences.

[link01]

I'll add in my satisfaction for my DICE HD.

The good:
- Being able to hear HD stations
- Being able to hook up my Ipod
- Being able to scroll through my Ipod through the head unit or the ipod itself
- Not having to use the cigarette lighter to charge the Ipod
- Being able to hook up any aux unit to the Dice to play out.

There are a couple things I would agree could be improved. But they are small and minor compared to all the things I am able to do above. I think given enough room, we can all nit pick about anything.

Also Tom @ EAS is a great support for any questions, nothing beats that customer service.

[tom @ eas]

Guys, thanks for the feedback - we do our best :)

[M3Mike]

Any more input on this? I'm thinking of getting one, the glovebox version.

I havent had any trouble at all. :dunno:

Main thing is, if you want to hear a playlist it will run through the list 1 time, then you go back to the menu and reselect a list or artist or whatever you want next.

I would buy it again in a heartbeat.

[tnlegendracer]

But she complains about the "INIT" thing a lot. She pushes a lot of buttons repeatedly and too fast. I unplug the IPOD, put it back in and it works. She's not a patient person.

I have had the IPOD just "lock up" and had to do the two finger shuffle on it. Heck, as far as I know, it may be the IPOD. This was on a 3G 60MB video IPOD. My daughter's NANO has never locked up.

I can see potentially one valid 'vert issue: I've jumped in the car and immediately hit the top down button. If you do that close to the time you've started the motor and you're in DICE mode, it seems to cause some confusion and you end up unplugging and replugging the IPOD in. After the first two times, I can almost get this to happen on demand now.

Here's what I do know: 1) Haven't had to buy a single battery for the DICE, but my RF transmitter in my truck goes through 2-4 a week (AA).

2) I've listened closely, at rest (engine on) and moving, and I don't hear the static/buzzing/clicking noise that a lot of folks mention.

I'm satisfied with it.

[Halston@BSW]

As per my long explanation post, the DICE is not a ferrari. If you are "impatient" with it this can lead to it "freaking out" which sometimes causes you to have to reset the DICE or the iPod.

I would recommend having her watch out DICE operation guide. This will allow her to see how fast the DICE works when using it properly and she can get a feel for how everything works. I think it will be a good help to her and save the hassle of having to reset/reboot/etc over and over :)

This will also discuss text display and using new style iPods including iPhone. This is the video for the Business CD. If you have Nav let me know as we have a video for that too.

DICE Operation Guide:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htRkQypGsNg

Enjoy! :thumbup:

[jeefr]

Either device connected independently via the CD Changer's 6-pin and 3-pin work great, crisp clear sound. Hang the DICE off the Sirius unit's secondary and I must turn up the fan on the climate control to mask the hiss, despite adding it's own ground. My advice, the install seems straight forward, but pay a Tom or Halston and spare yourself the headache.

[enigma]

I hope you are kidding. If a series of rapid key presses locks the device, then it's a piss poor design. I can't believe you are blaming the user for it.

I am sure your support and service is great, but I sure hope the product is better designed and made in the next iteration.



As per my long explanation post, the DICE is not a ferrari. If you are "impatient" with it this can lead to it "freaking out" which sometimes causes you to have to reset the DICE or the iPod.

I would recommend having her watch out DICE operation guide. This will allow her to see how fast the DICE works when using it properly and she can get a feel for how everything works. I think it will be a good help to her and save the hassle of having to reset/reboot/etc over and over :)

This will also discuss text display and using new style iPods including iPhone. This is the video for the Business CD. If you have Nav let me know as we have a video for that too.

DICE Operation Guide:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htRkQypGsNg

Enjoy! :thumbup:

[Halston@BSW]

I hope you are kidding. If a series of rapid key presses locks the device, then it's a piss poor design. I can't believe you are blaming the user for it.

I am sure your support and service is great, but I sure hope the product is better designed and made in the next iteration.

Well you have to take into consideration that if you boot up your computer and then while it is still booting you try and open FireFox and email and go ahead and log into your favorite game. The same will go for while it is running, you simply can't give it 30 commands in rapid succession and expect the computer to immediately do exactly what you want it to.

It doesn't necessarily lock the device but it can cause it to get, for lack of a better word, confused. I completely understand what you are saying but you have to understand the device. It is a small circuit board and it is transmitting quite a good bit of data too and from the connections/head unit and that takes time. Even when you are using the CD Changer it doesn't instantly play the next song when you hit next but that doesn't require the next song to be found on an iPod on the flash drive/hard drive, then play the song and then display the text.

[tom @ eas]

I hope you are kidding. If a series of rapid key presses locks the device, then it's a piss poor design. I can't believe you are blaming the user for it.

I am sure your support and service is great, but I sure hope the product is better designed and made in the next iteration.

Is your DICE locking up or the iPod itself? Keep in mind the iPod only has a 32mb buffer, it needs to clear that out if the Clickwheel buttons (which the DICE is giving the commands for) before it can access more data.

[enigma]

Well you have to take into consideration that if you boot up your computer and then while it is still booting you try and open FireFox and email and go ahead and log into your favorite game. The same will go for while it is running, you simply can't give it 30 commands in rapid succession and expect the computer to immediately do exactly what you want it to.

It doesn't necessarily lock the device but it can cause it to get, for lack of a better word, confused. I completely understand what you are saying but you have to understand the device. It is a small circuit board and it is transmitting quite a good bit of data too and from the connections/head unit and that takes time. Even when you are using the CD Changer it doesn't instantly play the next song when you hit next but that doesn't require the next song to be found on an iPod on the flash drive/hard drive, then play the song and then display the text.

Umm... OK, I think I am supposed to get your analogy, but I don't. :confused:

I have no problem banging on the keyboard, and my computer certainly doesn't lock up or become "confused."

You are mixing up two different things. There is a big difference between being "slow" and "locked up." The former is acceptable (to a degree) while the latter is unexcusable.

When DICE becomes "confused" because the user has pressed too many keys for it to process, then it is a design flaw. And it being "confused" is no reason to lock up.

I work in Telecom (mobile device) industry. If I ever had a phone lock up because the user pressed too many keys too fast, I definitely call it a defect, not a "user error."

[gooderick]

I had all the same problems you mentioned with an Ipod Video on my 2002 X5 but struggled along. At least it played some of the music on the Ipod, kind of. Now Apple release a new Ipod software version (v1.2.3 automatically installed via itunes) and I get complete disfunction. I'm experimenting with rolling back the version on the Ipod but haven't had much luck so far.

Dice. Don't bother. A waste of money (and time trying to get it working)!

[tom @ eas]

I had all the same problems you mentioned with an Ipod Video on my 2002 X5 but struggled along. At least it played some of the music on the Ipod, kind of. Now Apple release a new Ipod software version (v1.2.3 automatically installed via itunes) and I get complete disfunction. I'm experimenting with rolling back the version on the Ipod but haven't had much luck so far.

Dice. Don't bother. A waste of money (and time trying to get it working)!

While I don't agree with your statement, feel free to contact me directly for assistance in getting your DICE configured correctly - even if you did not purchase from us. :)

[harrymudd]

Tom- if you could help with this problem please: While listening to my iPod, it will suddenly change modes and go to FM or CD mode all by itself. This happens quite often. I have a 2006 M3 with Nav. Also sometimes it will display one mode but be playing another. All connections were done carefull and tight to avoid a loose connection problem since they're all hidden behind panels etc. Any suggestions? Thanks.

[jb33]

HD Dice with stealth antenna, very happy with it.

[tom @ eas]

Tom- if you could help with this problem please: While listening to my iPod, it will suddenly change modes and go to FM or CD mode all by itself. This happens quite often. I have a 2006 M3 with Nav. Also sometimes it will display one mode but be playing another. All connections were done carefull and tight to avoid a loose connection problem since they're all hidden behind panels etc. Any suggestions? Thanks.

Could be a faulty initialization. Perform the following steps:

1. Disconnect iPod from cable
2. Remove battery cables, negative first
3. Touch battery cable terminals together (away from battery) for +5 seconds, a small spark is normal as this is stored power draining from the system.
4. Allow cables to remain disconnected for about 5-7 minutes
5. Reconnect battery cables onto battery, negative last.
6. Reboot iPod by pressing on MENU and CENTER buttons for +5 seconds and then reconnecting to the DICE cable after the reboot process is completed.

Let me know if these steps correct the problem.

[KGMonteith]

HD DICE in my non-nav 325 works great -- sound quality is great, and after a few minutes reading the manual and learning the switch actions, have had no problems with it. Great support from Tom at EAS!

[Rock'n R]

Wow, sorry some people are having so much trouble with the iPod Dice. I installed it in my 04 X3 and it works flawlessly. Sound is crisp and clean. I love it. Much better than spending 185.00 for BMW part and another 180.00 for install. I spent 175.00 for unit, thats it. It was easy to install and easy to operate. Truely PLUG N' PLAY. I have NO clue why some people are having so much trouble. It was surprised how easy it was to get it up and running. :thumbup:

[optikal]

Figured I'd provide an update..

DICE apparently had problems with their ticketing system and my ticket got lost until about last week when they contacted me via email and asked if my problem was solved or not. After a number of exchanges, they agreed that the unit was probably bad and were going to send me a silverline instead. Great! Well, received a new non-silverline kit and cable (this cable is different than the last one and they claim that they've changed it just after I ordered the kit the first time specifically to reduce interference problems).

The noise is no longer there (yay!) so only time will tell to see if they've fixed the whole "won't wait for the ipod to boot before failing the initialization" thing.

Better than nothing :)